Thursday, July 12, 2018

Skunks

Sitting out in the garden just now with the wife and younger daughter, watching the night set in and talking. Two of the three cats joined us. The bats were coming out in the gloaming, beginning their nightly hunt.

Suddenly, the daughter exclaimed, "Dad, there's two skunks right behind you." We all turned and there were two of the little stinkers about fifteen feet away, wandering about.

Hilariously, both women got up and headed to the house, while I carefully approached to see if I could count them and/or get myself sprayed.

However, it was basically dark by this time, so I really couldn't see a lot, a dangerous thing when approaching the walking stink bombs.

One made a break for the neighbors vineyard. By this time the daughter had returned from the house with a flashlight, and Mrs. CW was out on the deck observing from a safe distance.

We tracked the one across the yard, through some brushy trees and then it escaped onto the neighbors land. We went back to the garden, and lo and behold, there was another one right where we had first seen them, hiding, it probably thought, under some branches.

I approached, and instead of bolting for safety like it's sibling, it turned and burrowed deeper into the brush, to the point I decided not to get any closer.

We're all back in the house now, but no doubt it will spray one of the cats in the wee hours of the morning, and the smelly puss will then come in and jump on our bed tonight to share the smell.

7 comments:

I remember brush-hogging an over-grown pasture one evening about dark and having one walk directly under the tractor from the right and meander slowly out the left side. This while the tractor was running and the brush-hog was in gear. I was praying that it didn't turn and walk into the brush-hog! - lol

Figured they were stealing my eggs out of the chicken coop. Still not getting eggs and saw one the other evening head through my fence and into the neighbor's yard. Need to let him know he still has a skunk over there.

I'd have shot the little stinker, but someone decided to build their house directly behind my property, and I don't want to use it as a bullet stop in case of a miss or ricochet.

Having watched them over the course of many years now, I've come to the conclusion that nature played a cruel trick on them. Every one I've come across and watched seemed pretty much in his own world. Unless something gets right up in their space they're pretty much oblivious to everything. They have no curiosity, no fear, no wonder.